nilodnayr

Wouldn't that be crazy if LA ended up with Aramis? Wow. If the Cubs ended up with Drew and ARod I would live. No H in the forehead for you.

Sorry, I already made that reference about 10 pages back.

Conveniently both his free agent contract years. So did he conveniently get plunked last year? Interpret as you wish, this guy can turn it on or off like a light switch. He's that talented. I don't believe in clutch, but this guy's as non-clutch as ARod's portrayed to be. His knees are damaged goods. I don't see him even coming close to 3/4 of a season if he plays centerfield. I think the reason he wants to play CF is because it's easier on the body. I don't understand that. In theory, CF cover more ground than a corner spot. Is it because more balls are hit to LF and RF as opposed to CF? However in Wrigley, the RF has to cover more ground than the CF.

i don't think he's going to provide that big of a boost, personally. While that is a convinving argument, I look at the fact that he had a 906 OPS in April last year (before he got hurt), 891 OPS the year before, and 927 OPS the year before that.

Detroit got 754 OPS out of first base last year (26th in the league) and 768 OPS out of DH last year (9th in the AL). Sheff will likely bring about 150 additional OPS to whichever postition they use him at. Thats quite an upgrade. Maybe Dombrowski is going to be this years K-dub.

You forget that they are a half day ahead, so tonight will be Saturday morning for them...I'm guessing the board will not make their decision over the weekend. this is a pretty big deal for them, they may not be waiting around for 5 oclock and then saying 'okay time to go, everyone have a good weekend'. the japanese are hard workers, maybe will be putting in some OT this weekend. i hope. IMO 32 business hours is plenty enough to make this decision. I hope you are right, but as the clock ticks it seems more likely that we are not going to hear anything from Japan until next week. However, that does not rule out leaks coming from the MLB offices in DC. Until the Lions accept the offer, they should have no clue what team it comes from.

He is still under 30 years old and a switch to the National League favors him. Yes he has an issue with walks. No he isn't Greg Maddux in his prime. But he is in the top 2 for FA pitchers this year (not counting Matsuzaka as an FA). And he does improve the Cubs pitching staff. I like Schmidt more, primarily because I think power wins more often in the playoffs, but Zito is good. You have to take what the market bears - it's not like the Cubs can summon up a better option than Zito or Schmidt. I dont have a problem with Zito. I think hes fine, but severly overrated. The orignal argument was that the two characteristics that Gammons used to value Zito in your original post...being healthy and winning are poor ways to measure a pitchers value. Just because he is in the top 2 FA for his position doesnt mean I'm enthused by him...hell, Wes Helms is in the top 2 FA for 3b (assuming we keep ARAM). Health is a poor way to measure a pitcher's value? In a vacuum, yes. Livan Hernandez has made 30+ starts for the last 10 years. Doesn't mean I want him...he was above average only 4 of those years. Plus, just because he has been healthy doesnt mean he will stay healthy...conversely that means he has had a bigger workload than other pitchers since HS. I obviously don't want to sink a ton of money into a guy who will be good, but only for 15 starts, but I don't want to sink a ton of money into a guy who will be average for 35 starts either.

You forget that they are a half day ahead, so tonight will be Saturday morning for them...I'm guessing the board will not make their decision over the weekend.

Probably nothing until Sunday around midnight Sunday (central time) at the earliest.

He is still under 30 years old and a switch to the National League favors him. Yes he has an issue with walks. No he isn't Greg Maddux in his prime. But he is in the top 2 for FA pitchers this year (not counting Matsuzaka as an FA). And he does improve the Cubs pitching staff. I like Schmidt more, primarily because I think power wins more often in the playoffs, but Zito is good. You have to take what the market bears - it's not like the Cubs can summon up a better option than Zito or Schmidt. I dont have a problem with Zito. I think hes fine, but severly overrated. The orignal argument was that the two characteristics that Gammons used to value Zito in your original post...being healthy and winning are poor ways to measure a pitchers value. Just because he is in the top 2 FA for his position doesnt mean I'm enthused by him...hell, Wes Helms is in the top 2 FA for 3b (assuming we keep ARAM).

Thats great if you value a guy by using a stat he does not significantly control and the fact that he shows up. I show up to work every day and do a decent job within my group which happens to be succesful because we have a lot of other guys that do a good job too...pay me 15M. The guy did win a Cy Young, so he isn't just showing up. For a team desperate for reliable starters, targeting a guy who has never missed a start (and is generally regarded as an elite pitcher) is a good idea. Yeah, he won the CY 5 years ago...and Pedro was much better than him that year and should have won. Look who regards him as an elite pitcher. The same people who quote wins and RBIs as a measure of success. I don't value their opinion. He WAS an elite pitcher, but now looks like an 4.00 ERA guy (1.40 WHIP two of the last three years!!!).

What if the BoSox bid absurdly high to ensure the Yanks did not win and will now trade Matsuzaka (while eating some of the posting fee) to a team in the NL. The ridiculously high $ makes me think thats pretty plausible and theres nothing in the rules against it. For a team like the Yanks, Matsuzaka is the one key piece that could push them over the edge. Plus the BoSox's new pitching coach said he really didn't know much about Matsuzaka in a recent interview, although he could have been playing coy.

Thats great if you value a guy by using a stat he does not significantly control and the fact that he shows up. I show up to work every day and do a decent job within my group which happens to be succesful because we have a lot of other guys that do a good job too...pay me 15M.

Alex, I'll take "Keys words in the previous post for $200". buck futter

He had the 3rd best OPS for NL RFs. Hit .285 with 27 homeruns and is under contract for 9M for the next two years. Not to say that I like him or anything, but thats the sale I make to anyone interested. I'd love to send him to the Nats and get Kearns, Church, and Vidro in return. Not really sure if theres any other teams out there that would be interested. Possibly the Dodgers, Giants, Rangers. I don't think the Nationals would give up young talent for a vet like Jones. Not exactly what a team in rebuilding mode would do. 1) The Nationals do not value Church as evidenced by the fact that he his third on the CF depth chart behind Alex Escobar and Nook Logan, both of whom are also young and cheap. 2) They are desperate to move Vidro and the 16M he is owed. 3) Kearns has 2 more arbi years left in which his salary will be equal to Jones. He has made it clear he is miserable in DC and by conventional baseball metrics is an inferior player to Jones. Even if they retain him for the next two years he is going to bolt when he hits FA.

http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/rozner.asp?id=248088 Cubs for 1 Billion Dollars? Since when did they replace FitzSimmons with Dr. Evil.

A lot depends on his salary and length of contract, but Piazza could end up being a mild bargain. He could be useful for an AL team in need of a DH. If healthy, Guillen could end up being a bargain as well. When you consider that he's coming off a bad year with some injuries, is still around 30, and hasn't made more than $4 million in any season, he'd be a decent gamble for a team in need of a corner OF. Trachsel is certainly no bargain though. Wilson made less than Guillen, was more productive than Guillen, and has been more productive over his career. Actually, they both made $4 mil in 2006. Wilson was more productive, but didn't Guillen have some injuries? In 2006, Wilson was the better bargain, I'm not arguing that. I'm just saying that Guillen could be a bargain for some team in 2007. Chances are, he'll get $4 mil or less, and if healthy, a .280/.340/.480 line is possible. Guillen is also an excellent RF, whereas Wilson has much to be desired defensively. Also, its ironic that we all hate Jones and he hit 285/335/500 for 4M.

the deadline is four business days from wednesday at 4 pm local time. they're almost certainly not going to announce their decision tonight, but it's not like i need a lot of prodding to stay up all night when i'm already drinking and i don't have class tomorrow. Supposedly their BOD met today (Japan's Friday) and if we are going to hear something its going to come at about 1 AM our time.

f* barry bonds I agree, but you have to admit, hes a pretty decent player.

My top 5 Matsuzaka ARAM Drew Bonds Soriano

(again, no incentive for the other side to make a deal) This stuff doesn't happen in a vaccuum. Ramirez and his agents have an agenda that's quite different from Hendry's. In response to the bolded points First point...Kinzer said recently that the out clause pretty much came after the negotiations were basically complete (someone help me with the article) Second point...The ASB great time to sit down and talk with your players. Plus he started off the season slow (which he usually does) so you have more leveraging power. Third point...he could have waived it in exchange for an extension. Players don't ask for NTC because they know they dont want to move, they get them so they are in a position of power to demand more money in order to waive them. Fourth point...if ARAM feels that the cubs offer is similar to what the Angels and Dodgers will offer and he wants to stay here, then whats his incentive to take it to the wire. Fifth point...nonchalantness can be inferred by Hendry's comments in the press. 1) Miles recently said that was Katz swooping in at the last minute with sweeteners to get the deal done...or (I assume) Ramirez is willing to walk . Ahh, yes, thats right. Thanks for remembering that. Although the "or Ramirez is willing to walk" was definitely an assumption considering ARAM signed 4/05 when he had another year left on his contract, so it wasn't exactly like he was about to walk...and the fact that ARAM signed an extension a year before hitting the market puts a damper on a lot of your assumptions of he and his agents taking advantage of their leveraging position.

Soriano Zito Schmidt Lee Mats :pukel: I have no idea what this is. How ESPN ranked the top free agents (including Matsuzaka as a FA) when I turned it on after reading your post. They said Soriano was in a class all of his own.

(again, no incentive for the other side to make a deal) This stuff doesn't happen in a vaccuum. Ramirez and his agents have an agenda that's quite different from Hendry's. In response to the bolded points First point...Kinzer said recently that the out clause pretty much came after the negotiations were basically complete (someone help me with the article) Second point...The ASB great time to sit down and talk with your players. Plus he started off the season slow (which he usually does) so you have more leveraging power. Third point...he could have waived it in exchange for an extension. Players don't ask for NTC because they know they dont want to move, they get them so they are in a position of power to demand more money in order to waive them. Fourth point...if ARAM feels that the cubs offer is similar to what the Angels and Dodgers will offer and he wants to stay here, then whats his incentive to take it to the wire. Fifth point...nonchalantness can be inferred by Hendry's comments in the press.

Now that would be a good idea. Depending on what would be traded away, yes. Daisuke is still my first choice. Resigning Ramirez the most pressing issue. And then signing J.D. Drew. It doesn't seem very likely for the Cubs to pull off all of that, but if they did... Theriot-2B Murton-LF Drew-CF Lee-1B Ramirez-3B Jones-RF Barrett-C Izturis-SS Zambrano Matzusaka Hill Heilman Prior/Miller I suppose you could sign a free agent 2B as well, but that's gets the job done, I think. Trade Jones and whoever for Kearns, Church, Vidro and slide Theriot over to ss.

And why did Derrek Lee sign his deal, then? Derrek Lee didn't have 3 guaranteed (to the player) years on his deal. Big difference. Even for this board this is getting ridiculously circular.